A Bumpy Process
by Loonaticslover13
Summary: "Life is a bumpy process; so is love." A version of how our two favourite bunnies could have shared their lives together, from the very beginning to the very end.
1. One: Friendship

A Bumpy Process

"Life is a bumpy process; so is love." A version of how our two favourite bunnies could have shared their lives together, from the very beginning to the very end."

* * *

_Part One:  
The Friendship_

* * *

It was early on in March that it began.

After waking up in the hospital a day before, twenty-one year old Lexi Bunny was trying to come to terms with the startling discovery the doctors had made; she had super powers. If she was the same little girl she had been roughly ten years before, she would've been thrilled. But as a young woman who had gotten her heart broken by jerks, a dream crushed by jealousy and still struggling to find her place in the world and pay her bills, she was terrified. She didn't want these new, freakish powers. Her life was complicated enough without them, thank you very much.

Lexi didn't have high hopes when she headed to the tallest tower in Acmetropolis - which was thankfully fairly close to where she had been living - she went for answers. An associate of a mysterious woman named Zadavia had promised to explain why these strange things were happening to her. She wasn't expecting, to any degree, that she would be offered a job however.

A dangerous job. The tower, from what she had seen of the main room on the 125th floor, looked luxurious, but as a crime-fighter, how much time would she have to enjoy it really? And living with five boys? She wasn't really looking forward to that option, and her dad would definitely freak. She fiddled with her necklace - a gold locket with a picture of each of her parents inside - nervously, placing her elbows on the table.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," the associate said, trying to convince them. The boys - a duck, a Tasmanian Devil, a coyote, a roadrunner and a bunny - seemed just as reluctant as she was. "You'll be able to really learn how to control your powers, so you don't accidentally use them. All utility expenses with be paid for by Zadavia and a generous fund will be set up for you if at any time you choose to retire."

That caught the duck's attention. The associate seemed to be encouraged by that, and continued. "Free food, you'll be famous, influence over the city's various decisions regarding politics and trade, adoring fans, as many materials as you wish for inventions," the man promised, noticing the way the coyote was tinkering with something; the anthro immediately perked up, and the Devil already looked sold.

"As well as a monthly paycheck, for personal reasons, it's not a lot, but enough for you to buy what you wish," the man explained. "Family, during certain times, is also allowed to visit." The roadrunner smiled, and even the other bunny was starting to look interested.

"So. . ." the man said awkwardly, clasping his hands together and looking at them expectantly. "What do you say?"

"I'm in - that money will be great."  
"My-family-will-take-some-convincing-they're-so-pr otective-you-know-but-I'm-definitely-joining-they' ll-be-so-excited-to-come-visit!"  
"As many materials as I want, all the things I could invent . . . Count me in."  
"Yes. Me in."  
"Eh, what the heck? Sure."

They all looked at her, and she instantly felt uncomfortable. Like those failed cheerleader tryouts all over again. "Er . . ." She said awkwardly. She scanned the boy's faces, and was drawn to the other bunny's; the one with the bright blue eyes. He jerked his head in the tiniest nod, as if to say _What do you have to lose? _She realized he was right. What _did_ she have to lose?

"Yeah," she said, with a nervous sort of smile. "I'll do it."

* * *

The first few days were crazy.

Moving in was an interesting task, although admittedly, Ace Bunny didn't have much to move - but boy that duck (funnily enough, his name was actually Duck) did! He quickly set up his room. A simple, fairly small space with clean sheets, a framed poster on the wall that said "_There are always things to be thankful for". _Then, there was a black and white-photograph on his bedside table; two smiling anthros, the mother holding her baby and another little boy's hand, with the husband's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Getting used to his teammates (it was still strange to call them that - he barely knew them) was another thing altogether. Luckily, there was only five of them, so it was easy to remember their names, but their habits were even stranger.

The first night Ace got out of bed in the night to have a glass of water, and he ran into Tech, who was sleep walking. Ace knew it was dangerous to wake sleep-walkers up - or at least that's what he had heard, so he let the coyote be. Duck was naturally annoying, and always telling the others and Ace to be quiet, even though he was the loudest of them all. Both Rev and Slam were hard to understand, although he was getting there.

The girl bunny, Lexi, was something else entirely different. Unlike with the guys - maybe it was a universal thing, that guys had an easier time becoming friends than with the other gender - there was a barrier between she and the others that none of them could seem to breach; her walls were too high. Ace knew a thing or two about putting up walls himself, and knew that it wasn't healthy for someone. He was determined to climb them. He just had to get to know her, and gradually the walls would crumble.

Such a chance reared its head after the first week.

Ace, once again, had gotten up in the night for a glass of water, like he always did, when suddenly, the all-consuming reality of what he was doing - what he had gotten himself in to, started suffocating him. He needed air.

The bunny headed to the balcony on the 112th floor. He had discovered it the previous day upon exploring the massive tower, and the view it gave of the city skyline was a sight to behold. It took only a few minutes to reach the floor, and he began to walk towards it, when he realized someone was already there: Lexi.

He stepped quietly onto the large balcony, and gave a sort of a sigh at the view; she jumped. "Sorry," he said uneasily. "Pretty amazing view, you know?" Anything to change the topic.

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah. I didn't hear you - I'm still getting used to my super-hearing. I was just figuring out that I could turn it on and off in the training room today. Well, I can turn it off, at least. I'm not sure how to turn it back on." She put a hand to her head and rubbed the throbbing area near her left eyebrow; a brain-blast was cool power, but it gave her splitting headaches.

"Still seems crazy that we're here," Ace admitted, putting his elbows on the railing, with Lexi doing the same next to him.

"I know what you mean. My dad's still in shock," Lexi told him. "So are my brothers; they're all having a hard time dealing with this."

"Let me guess - they can be over protective sometimes?"

Lexi half-laughed and smiled. "You don't know the half of it. They don't like seeing me get hurt, by _anything. _I can't blame them though; I haven't had the best experience with guys in the past, if you know what I mean." She held his gaze for a moment, and then dropped it, staring back at the horizon, and Ace was sure she was frowning.

There was the wall between them once again, and Ace wanted to get over it. "Yeah, I do," Ace said slowly, "I haven't had the best of luck either. . . So, if you - er, wanna talk or anything. . . I'm here." He smiled nervously.

Lexi looked back at him, touched and surprised. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "Thanks." She put a hand on his arm. "I should be going to bed."

She moved her hand away and began to walk out of the balcony, when at the threshold of the balcony and room, she looked back. "See you tomorrow?" Her own hesitance crept into her voice. Ace seemed like a nice guy, if there was someone on the team who looked like a potential friend, it was him.

He grinned fully at her.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

* * *

Things progressed slowly.

Good friendships don't happen overnight, but while crime-fighting and conversations, soon, Lexi felt like she could call Ace her friend. Maybe not a best friend, but out of all the team, he was the one who was slowly becoming her friend. The step that really took things forward was when Zadavia, through a hologram, decided to assign the team a leader. The team had been together for two months, and Lexi personally thought it was about time - anything to get Duck to shut up about it ("_I_ would make the best leader," he boasted, "Zadavia_totally_ sees that.").

On missions, the team was still getting used to their powers, and pretty much did whatever they thought would work. Ace had begun to teach them all martial arts, and Lexi was clearly having the easiest time with it, considering her gymnastics and dance background - Ace was still far more ahead in skill than her though. He was also good at thinking on his feet, and often came up with good ideas when they got themselves into tricky situations on missions.

So Lexi wasn't surprised when Zadavia said, "I've decided Ace shall be the leader."

The female bunny watched the buck closely, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Slam had cheered loudly, Tech had clapped Ace on the back, Rev had congratulated Ace excitedly and Duck had grumbled about it. Ace just looked a little shocked, and Lexi couldn't tell whether he was happy or scared or resentful or anything. He was good at hiding his emotions - sometimes she thought it was a good attribute, and sometimes she hated it.

Once the team had dispersed into their individual activities, Lexi went to the balcony, and knew, that sooner or later, Ace would head over there. Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, she heard him step onto the balcony. Luckily, she had gotten her super-hearing under control.

"How are you feeling?" she asked gently, concentrating on his face for a flicker of emotion.

He sighed, wringing his hands together. "Honestly? I don't know. . . I'm honoured and everything - it's a big deal after all, but it's a big responsibility. . . I don't want to have to hide my emotions, to keep everyone going all the time you know?"

"You don't have to hide them from me." She grinned at his surprised look.

"Really?" he said incredulously. "I don't want to make you worry and stuff. . ."

"Yes, _really. _You're my friend; I'll worry about you no matter what. It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside." She gave him a knowing look. "Someone pretty smart reminded me of that."

Ace smiled, and knew what she was referring to.

"Now," Lexi said, "wanna head inside before Slam eats all the pizza?"

"Yes," he answered with a sheepish smile. They started walking inside, keeping in time with each other. "Thanks Lex," he added.

It made her stop for a moment, registering that he had given her a nickname. Nobody had ever given her a nickname before - not even her family. She smiled softly; Lex. . . She liked the sound of that.

Ace was a little while ahead of her when he looked back, grinning and called, "You coming?"

She quickly caught up with him but hurried forwards to get in front of them. "Race ya!" Ace shook his head and smiled, and then sprinted after the female bunny.

* * *

Ace felt horrible.

Pain was building in his forehead from getting smashed into a wall and his throat was dry and scratchy. He was exhausted. His worry about Lexi - who had crumpled to the floor after a big hit from their super villain of the day - quickly turned to rage, and his eyes glowed yellow as he charged.

He knocked the villain down with a laser vision, and his sword met theirs with a clang, but he pushed harder and overwhelmed them. Soon, the tip of his blade was at their throat. Rev rushed over and clamped the anti-power handcuffs on them, and then Ace rushed over to where Tech was bending over Lexi.

Blood was leaking from her head and into her fur; the sight of it made him feel dizzy and sick to his stomach. "Is she going to be alright?" he said hastily.

Tech wiped a wet cloth over the bloody area. "She'll be fine - just a minor injury with the medicine we have back at HQ. Rev, take the Terminator to prison will you?"

The roadrunner nodded and seized the villain's hand and they sped off; they could hear the Terminator screaming in the distance, and it made Ace grimace. It was his first mission as leader, and look at what had happened.

"Don't blame yourself Ace," Tech told him firmly. "It's not your fault."

"I should have been paying more attention," Ace said, putting his head in his hands. Slam and Duck edged their way out of earshot; it wasn't the time to be there. "I could have -"

"- done something differently. But what if the Terminator got away? You'd be feeling as bad as you are now Ace. Lexi will be fine, there's no lasting damage. This job is dangerous; all of us knew what we were getting ourselves into." He made Lexi sit up against the wall, and her eyes fluttered open. She pressed a palm against her aching head.

"What happened?" she said dazedly, looking around.

"Terminator got a good hit at you, but you're going to be fine," Tech explained. "Do you feel up to using your jetpack?"

The female bunny went to get up but found her legs wouldn't support her. "No."

Tech pursed his lips. "Ace can carry you to HQ then." He turned around towards Duck and Slam before either bunny could protest.

Ace didn't know exactly what to feel - sure they were friends, but to carry her bridal style? Only one thing to do: make a joke. "Ready to go m'lady?" he teased. It did the trick.

Lexi giggled. "Certainly." She let Ace help her up and he picked her bridal style. "Don't let me fall," she told him sternly, although he knew she wasn't serious because she was smiling.

The trip to HQ went smoothly. Rev joined them as Ace set Lexi down carefully on the couch. "Is-Lexi-okay?" he asked.

Tech nodded. "Yes. Ace, would you mind getting her the medicine? It's a little blue bottle with the words pain killer on it. I gotta go to the lab. Coming Rev?"

The bird and canine left to invent more machines (they were still working the Loonatics' bikes) while Ace went to their medicine room, quickly locating the little blue bottle. When he came back to the main room a few minutes later, Duck and Slam had vanished. Probably to the fridge, he decided.

He handed Lexi the bottle, and she popped two of the chew-able pills into her mouth. "Thanks Ace," she said once she had swallowed the pills.

He shrugged. "No problem Lex. You did good on the mission today."

"So did you Spades," she replied. He blinked - did she just give him a nickname? Spades. . . Hmm. He gave her a goofy grin; he liked it.

"Thanks," he said. He smiled at her. He noticed she was settling down, seemingly getting ready to take a nap. "Should I leave you?"

"Yes, thank you," she said. She wrapped the blanket over herself further.

"I'll be in the training room if you need me," he called as he walked to the elevator.

"Leave me some holographic robot butt to kick!" she requested.

He chuckled. "Of course Lex."

* * *

It was a necessary precaution to take. In case something - God forbid - ever happened to Ace, whether he got sick or he got too badly injured for a time or - Lexi was just going to leave her mind from thinking anything further.

She was still flattered when her leader chose her to be second in command of the Loonatics. Lexi didn't consider herself to be the best on the team in terms of fighting, even with Ace out of the game - the boys still, naturally, had a bit of a head start on her. It was something she had worked hard to beat, and she trained at least twice everyday; the only person who did more was her leader.

"R-really?" she asked in disbelief – her, of all of them, he wanted her to be his second in command? Nobody had ever trusted her with something so important; she was youngest in her family, so her parents always made sure one of her brothers was home with her, people never gave her important parts on school projects. He _trusted _her.

"No, I want the other girl named Lexi on the team," he joked, and smiled, showing part of his chipped tooth. "Yes, of course it's you!"

"I still think I would do a better job," Duck muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. Slam elbowed him in the gut and the mallard stumbled.

"I won't let you down," she replied to the other bunny, gaining more confidence. "I promise."

He grinned at her. "Now, what do you say to some training, my second in command?" he asked.

"Oh now he's just being mean," Duck grumbled. Slam picked him up by his uniform and the purple and orange clad anthros walked (or, in Duck's case, forced to) away.

"Certainly," Lexi answered. The two walked to the elevator and got in. "Just be prepared to get your butt kicked Spades." The elevator doors closed.

Ace chuckled and raised his eyebrows at her. "Sure, keep telling yourself that Lex."

* * *

"Really Spades," Lexi said with a smirk, "you shouldn't act like you can't get sick."

Ace scowled at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "I usually _don't. _I can't remember the last time I even got a cold." He lifted an arm and coughed into it.

The two bunnies were in his room; Ace had unfortunately gotten sick in the later fall months of the year, and the team had decided that someone should stay behind just in case. Lexi had volunteered to help out her best friend, and Tech had stepped up to the role of leader.

Lexi reached over to his bedside table and took a small white bottle from it; was full of little red Aspirins. She unscrewed the bottle and let two pills fall into her hand. "Here." She pressed them into Ace's hand. When he didn't do anything she said, "What are you waiting for? Do you want water or something?"

"No, no," Ace said quickly. "I just . . . really don't like pills. They're all rubbery; it's gross!"

Lexi rolled her eyes but smiled. "Too bad mister, you need to have them. You want to get out of bed as soon as possible, don't you?" she said teasingly. She knew he hated being confined, or sitting still for very long.

"Yes," he admitted glumly.

"Then eat up." She gave him a knowing and infuriating (on his part) look. He looked down at the pills and his hand and groaned.

"Fine." He popped them into his mouth; Lexi did her best not to laugh at his hilarious and disgusted-looking expression.

"See, was that so bad?" she teased with a smile. He glared at her.

A voice came over the intercom. "_Danger Duck, Tech E. Coyote, Rev Runner and Slam Tasmanian have arrived back at HQ." _It went back to silence.

The female bunny got up from the bed. "I should go say hi to the guys and see how the mission went." She turned back when she was at the door. "I'll come back soon to let you know. You'll have to have more of those delicious pills soon," she joked. "Get better soon Spades – I miss training with you." She left.

Ace felt sour for a moment about the pill comment, but then registered what she had said: she missed training with him. He smiled. Maybe being sick wasn't too bad, since he had his best friend to hang out with.

* * *

Lexi panted as she raised her forearm to block Ace's strike. "Nice try," she said breathlessly. She moved her other arm lower and went to land a punch on his stomach area, but his other hand easily encompassed her smaller one, stopping it in mid air.

"Nice try yourself," he said and smirked. The smirk was quickly wiped off his face as the doe's leg swept him off his feet; he landed on his back with a thud. Then she sat on him and kept him pinned to the ground.

"One, two, three!" she said happily. She smiled cheekily down at him and then got off. "I win." She offered and hand and he grabbed it and pulled himself up.

"I have to admit Lex," he told her with a grin. "You've gotten a lot better." Pride crept into his voice; he was the one who had taught her, after all.

"Thanks to a certain martial arts master," she said slyly, and nudged him playfully. His smile widened, showing his chipped tooth. "Hey, I've been wondering for a while, how did your tooth get chipped?" she asked.

He stiffened and his grin faded. She looked up at him, concerned. "Sorry . . ." she said, feeling embarrassed. She didn't mean to make things awkward. She raised a hand to fiddle with her necklace, like she always did when she was nervous, but it wasn't there because she was in her uniform. "I didn't mean to raise a sore subject."

Ace shook his head slightly, his lips pursed. "Nah, it's alright." He wrung his hands. "It happened a long time ago. . . I was around twelve, I think, and I was walking to my mom's apartment from school, when I saw these two kids picking on a younger one. I stepped in, and well – you can imagine what happened."

"That's really brave Ace," Lexi said, impressed. "You just couldn't resist playing the hero even then, could you?" she joked. She had noticed he had said 'my mom's apartment' and wondered why, but it was a story for another day.

Ace shrugged, flattered and pleased with himself. "Eh, a stupid hero maybe. . ." He gave her a sheepish grin, once again showing his chipped tooth.

"Well," she said happily, "I think it suits you Ace."

"Thanks Lex," he replied.

* * *

"So. . ." Ace said slowly, looking at her. "You want _my _advice?"

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said. "I could never ask the others for help with this." Duck would tease her mercilessly, Rev would give her too much feedback, Tech would just keep zoning out and Slam could be very indecisive.

"Why do I qualify? I don't know anything about, like, dresses and stuff!" he said, looking between the two dresses – one teal, one green – with a terrified expression. The two were in her room – pale blue walls, a large portrait of her family on the wall opposite of her bed with a pale pink bed-spread, a black dresser and a black nightstand with a lamp and a pink lamp shade on it.

"I need to know what I should wear to the premiere, and you are going to help me," Lexi said firmly. "Please?" she added and pouted. Ace tried to stay strong – he really did, but her big green eyes and pout were too hard to stay strong at.

"Fine," he said at last. Lexi grinned happily. Finally, she would have some help. "Hold them up again?"

Lexi held the teal one higher. "See, I like this one, since it goes well with my fur colour, but the green matches my eyes. . . So, I'm not sure which one is better; what do you think?"

Ace cocked his head to the side, thinking. "I don't think it really matters what ya wear Lex, you'll look great in anything." His eyes widened slightly when he realized at what he had said, and smiled nervously. His shoulders tensed.

Lexi flushed and smiled, feeling flattered. "Thanks Spades." The gray rabbit instantly relaxed. She looked at the dresses herself. "You know, I think I'll go with the green one. It matches my hair band too." She tapped the green cloth that tied her ears together and smiled again.

"I'll leave so you can change," Ace said, and stood up from the bed. He crossed the small room and into the hallway. He only had to wait a few moments before the female bunny walked out in the green dress. She looked stunning.

"How do I look?" she asked happily as she twirled, watching the dress swish after her. Once she was done admiring herself, she looked at Ace expectantly. "Well?"

"You look _amazing _Lexi," he said honestly. He gave her a sheepish smile.

She giggled. "Thanks. Now, you need to get ready for the premiere too." She pushed him towards his room. "Now, get ready, I don't want to be late."

The male bunny punched his code into the keypad. "Of course Lex," he said, chuckling.

* * *

Lexi turned around when she heard soft yet heavy footsteps approach the main room, recognizing them for Ace's. "Hey," she said absentmindedly, turning the page of her magazine as she sat on the couch. Ace took a seat next to her.

"Watcha reading?" he asked, sounding interested. She moved the magazine to show him the cover. "Ah, you're reading _The A-Team. _Isn't that a gossip magazine? I didn't think you were into that stuff Lex."

"I'm not," Lexi replied. "But Duck had finished reading all of his, and started reading my _Home and Skyscraper _magazines." She shrugged. "This was all he would let me have, and I can see why; most of this is about Justin Beaver."

"But Duck loves Justin Beaver," Ace said, perplexed. Why had their teammate given up the magazine?

"Exactly; he already knows everything about Beaver, so this magazine's useless," Lexi explained. She closed it up and tossed it on the table.

"Oh. . ." Ace said slowly. Then he cleared his throat. "Well, seeing as we have the day off, wanna go get ice cream or something?"

Lexi smiled. "Sure. Have you asked the guys if they want to come?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah, they didn't want to. Duck is going to a Misty Breeze signing, Slam is visiting his family, and Rev persuaded Tech to let him tag along to the Museum of Technological Advances."

"Fun," Lexi said, giggling. Ace laughed.

"A real party," he agreed sarcastically. "So, shall we?" He stuck out his arm like a gentlemen, half-laughing. Lexi laughed some more and looped her arm around his.

"Yes we shall Spades," she replied. The two teammates walked to the elevator and stepped in. The machine took them down to the bottom floor, and they stepped out onto the street. Both rabbits were already in civilian clothes, as Zadavia had previously given them the notice that they had the day off.

A light layer of frost was on everything, turning windows of the skyscrapers and houses white, and making their footprints noticeable as they headed down the Main Street. Wind made the branches of the few trees around the area shake, a few stubborn leaves still hanging on.

Lexi pulled her pale blue jacket that ended before her jeans tighter around her; the wind was cold and it made the day chilly. Ace stuck his hands in his baggy, faded jeans, wearing a dark jacket.

"You cold?" Ace said. He fixed his concerned gaze on her.

"A little," she admitted. She put her hands in her pockets.

"Do you want my jacket?" he offered. He really didn't mind; sure, he would be cold, but it really wasn't that bad. A freezing gust of wind made his ears fly behind him. Okay, so it was bad, but he didn't want her to be cold.

She quickly shook her head. "No. I'll be fine."

"You know," Ace said slowly, looking at the small little shops they passed as they walked down the street. "How about instead of ice cream, we get some hot chocolate?"

Lexi smiled at the notion. "Sounds good to me." They quickly walked into a cozy and warm cafe. Soft jazz music floated through the small shop.

A waitress quickly came to their table. "May I take your order?" she asked, giving them a smile.

"Hot chocolate please," they said at the same time, and then looked at each other, pleased but surprised.

"Two hot chocolates." The waitress scribbled something down on her holographic pad. "Right away." A few minutes later, she put the two warm drinks on the table, then walked away after they thanked her. They both wrapped their cold fingers around the hot mugs. Warmth seeping into them.

Lexi was about to take a sip when Ace warned her, "Blow on it first, just in case it's too hot." She did as he said and then carefully took it a sip. It wasn't scorching, thankfully, and she took a big gulp. Ace took a large sip too.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. Then she stifled a snicker. "You have a milk mustache," she told her leader. Ace smiled and took a napkin and wiped it off while Lexi let out a giggle.

"So," Ace said, and then took another sip. "How's your family?"

And they spent the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing, and sipping their hot chocolate.

* * *

**A/N: This thing was a monster to write. No really, this took days. Partially 'cause it's long, partially because of vacation, and mostly because of laziness, my most formidable, yet brought upon foe. Well, as the title says, this is Part One: The Friendship, which is just setting up their first meeting, getting to know each other, and goofing off.**

**This fic will undoubtedly be long, in both word count and chapters, seeing as it follows them through their before dating years (AKA jealousy), dating years, engaged months, married years, parenting years, in between years and elderly years. This will most likely be updated slowly, seeing as I want the chapters to be nice and long, and also when no inspiration (again, really mostly laziness) to update my other LU and HTTYD stories.**

**So yeah, please review, and tell me what you liked and didn't like. Thanks.**

**Until next time, my wonderful readers:**

**_~ Loontatics Lover13_**


	2. Two: Feelings

A Bumpy Process

* * *

_Part Two:  
The Feelings_

* * *

Lexi felt a strong irritation as the boys fawned over Black Velvet. Especially when Ace agreed with Slam that the villain was "hot". Boys, honestly. She shot a glare at her leader. Sure, Black Velvet was kinda pretty, with her choppy, glossy dark hair and curvy figure, but her red eyes were just creepy.

"Put your eyes back in your head," she snapped at the male bunny. He looked momentarily taken aback.

She felt her old insecurities crawling up her throat, and sighed as she strapped on her jet pack. She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way. She had the best job on Acmetropolis. She was an attractive young woman. Way more attractive than stupid Black Velvet, anyway. Later, she got a great pleasure in kicking Black Velvet's butt. Who knew where the villain had ended up. Who cared?

After the mission, she couldn't seem to bury her insecurities again, so the female bunny went to the balcony. As always, the wind and the beautiful view always helped clear her head. The stark skyline stood out brilliantly against the white moon that looked like a pearl in the dark sky. The sound of soft footsteps entered her ears and she turned her head to see Ace standing there.

"Just wondering where you were," he explained, somewhat sheepishly. "It's pretty late." He moved to stand next to her, his elbows resting on the balcony bar and his arms falling limply over the other side. "What's bothering you Lex?"

"Nothing," she lied, avoiding his eyes.

"Lex." He raised his eyebrows at her. She sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing there was no way out of this.

"I - " she faltered. "I was just bothered that you thought Black Velvet was hot," she continued, feeling dumb. Man, how _stupid _did that sound! She bit her lip and turned away to look at the skyline.

"Oh." She shook her head at Ace's response. Then, he let out a faint laugh, much to her frustration and embarrassment. "Lex, that shouldn't bother ya. Black Velvet was hot." Her irritation grew - she already knew that, unfortunately - but it faded when he put his hand on her shoulder. "_You're beautiful." _

She felt heat rise to her cheeks and flushed at the compliment. It was the first time a boy had ever called her that. She smiled, and knew Ace correctly took that as a sign of forgiveness. "Thanks."

"Anytime Lex," he told her, giving her a grin. "Now what do ya say to going inside?"

"Sounds like a wonderfully put together plan Spades," she joked. He laughed and she gave him a playful nudge. He gave her one too, but did it too hard and she stumbled. He grabbed her hand to keep her from hitting the ground and pulled her up, and because of it, they found each other almost nose to nose.

He could feel her breath on his lips, and his eyes widened at the realization that he actually didn't mind being this close to her. What the heck? Sure, Lexi was a beautiful bunny - he had just said so! - but she was just a friend. . . Right? He cleared his throat awkwardly and they both took a step backwards.

"So, er thanks, for - uh, catching me," she said weakly.

"Uh, no problem." He rubbed the back of his neck with a hand, unsure of what to say or do. His cheeks were bright red.

"I should be, getting to bed, you know?" she said, slowly heading back inside the building.

"Uh, yeah. Night Lex," he said, a little nervously.

"Good night."

He stood there on the balcony, his heart hammering in his rib cage, confused, and unaware that his female teammate was thinking the same thing was him: What is wrong with me?

* * *

It was a mild spring day. The buds of trees were beginning to flourish into leaves, and flowers were sprouting up everywhere. So, as per tradition, it was spring-cleaning time in the tower.

Ace grunted quietly as he hoisted a heavy box - full of little knick-knacks, his _There are always things to be thankful for _poster and the photograph on his bedside table - into his arms. He carefully held it with one arm as he punched a button for his door to slide open. When it did, the leader of the Loonatics stepped into the main room, which was full of other boxes. DUCK had been written in big black letters with a marker and underlined a few times on a large amount of them. He shook his head and smiled, looking at the contents and seeing ninety percent of them was Misty Breeze merchandise.

He set his box down and stretched his arms as another door opened and Lexi walked in carrying a box of her own and saw him smiling. "So you've seen Duck's ridiculous stuff," she guessed and put her box down next to his. "I don't even have enough stuff to fill nine boxes, let alone nine boxes of _merchandise._"

"We all know Duck has a screw loose," Ace joked. Lexi giggled.

"Yeah, pretty much." She looked over at the photograph peeking out of box, curiosity filling her. She had never seen any photos of Ace's family, and he usually didn't talk about it. "Do you mind?"

Ace's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then he nodded. "Go ahead." He trusted her; she wasn't one to pry, and there was no harm in letting her see the picture.

She carefully picked the photo up. It was of a small family - a female bunny with light gray fur and sapphire eyes, her long dark hair messily swept up in a bun; a male bunny with darker gray fur and green eyes; and then two stubby gray ears sticking out a bundle of blue blankets in the woman's arms, her other hand holding another little - but older - bunny's hand.

"My mom, dad and my little brother Flynn and I," Ace explained. "Flynn's the baby. He's four years younger than me. Just turned nineteen a couple months ago. He's gone abroad - England. My parents liked unique names, as you can probably guess."

Lexi made a soft aw sound. "You're so cute. Flynn too." She studied the photo more closely. "Your mother's beautiful."

"I know." He smiled at her. "Am I still cute?" he joked.

A pink tinge appeared on her cheeks. "Yes, very cute Spades," she replied through giggles. There was a pause, before she spoke again, "If you don't mind me asking. . ." she trailed off, but then resumed her confidence. This was Ace; she could ask him anything. "When you told me the story of how you got your tooth chipped, you said your mom's apartment. . . Why?"

Ace stiffened slightly. "My dad was a police officer, and one day. . ." He cursed inwardly at himself as tears prickled in his eyes. "He - he didn't come home. I was ten."

Lexi's eyes shone with concern. "I'm so sorry." Normally, Ace got annoyed when someone said they were sorry for his father's death. How did that give any consolation? How did that fix _anything_? But sincerity was laced with each of the doe's words, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Thanks Lexi." She took his hand and squeezed it, not seeing his cheeks redden significantly.

"Anytime Spades," she replied, letting go of his hand. He gave her a faint smile.

* * *

"I am Slicer!" the villain bellowed. He was a bald man with sharp nails and many blades on his persona and in his hands, and crazy eyes. "Surrender now!"

The six Loonatics stood in defensive positions, ready to fight should he make an unexpected move. Ace pretended to think about the demand. "Eh," he said slowly. "Not gonna happen doc."

Slicer responded to that by throwing a dagger in the bunny's direction. Gracefully, he combat-rolled out of the way, the others getting away from the blade as well. Lexi ended up next to her leader. "Plan Ace?" she asked, dodging another blade. Slicer was throwing them out quickly now.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Slam hurl an empty car towards the super freak, only for him to slice the car in half and dodge one of Duck's eggs. Green light was also surrounding some of the daggers (Tech) and making them go off course and Rev was helping civilians get to safety, his super speed allowing him to easily get out of the way of the speeding daggers.

"I'm gonna try to get close enough to have a sword fight; it should distract him enough -" Ace leaped over a sword, "- to let the rest of you get him in handcuffs."

Lexi nodded, her mouth set in a firm line. "Just be careful," she told him. Normally, their suits of armour was enough to keep them pretty well protected, but they had never faced someone who threw razor sharp knives before, and wasn't sure how their uniforms would hold.

He nodded as well, and then sprang into action. His sword popped up from its hilt and Ace slashed it through the air, knocking two daggers off of their course, stealthily and slowly making his way closer and closer to Slicer.

"What's up doc?" the yellow rabbit asked, smirking. Slicer bellowed with outrage and unsheathed a sword from his belt, brandishing it in the air, before bringing the long weapon down upon Ace's blade. His sword shook slightly under the pressure, threatening to slide off of the other blade.

Slicer leered at him, feeling him shake. "Scared rabbit?"

"Like that's gonna happen," Ace replied, shooting lasers quickly out of his eyes. The lasers knocked Slicer a good few feet away. The sword the bald man had been using was at least ten feet away from. Ace easily approached him, still wary, as the villain could naturally throw daggers. Cautiously, he put the tip of his sword at the man's throat, and saw Lexi move to be beside him out of the corners of his eyes. The male bunny's heart rate sped up.

"Tech's bringing the handcuffs," she whispered to him. He nodded. Good.

Fast as lightning, Slicer had a super-power formed blade in his hand, used it to drive Ace's sword away from his neck and threw the dagger into the air. Lexi dove out of the way in time, but Ace...

Blood was blossoming on his uniform, half of the dagger embedded into his side when he went to turn away. He crumpled to the ground and Lexi rushed towards him, tears forming in her eyes. Slam had already run over and kept Slicer in a painfully tight grip when Tech put on the handcuffs. Then, the coyote joined the two bunnies.

"What do we do Tech?" she said, barely audible, her voice wavering. Tears were threatening to spill over onto her cheeks, and she felt so, so _scared. _

"I'm sorry Chief but this is gonna hurt - " The inventor took something out of his pockets; a piece of small, smooth wood and gave it to Ace. The bunny understood and put it in his mouth. Then Tech gripped the hilt in his hands - Lexi could see him shaking - and pulled the dagger out. Ace went to scream but the piece of wood muffled it and kept him from biting his tongue and causing himself more pain.

"Slam!" Tech called. "Pick Ace up, he's too heavy for any of us. Duck, transport them to HQ and then come back for the rest of us. Rev, take Slicer," the villain's name was spat out, "to prison and make sure the guards know exactly what he's done."

Rev nodded, looking more serious than Lexi had ever seen him and then the roadrunner seized Slicer's shoulder and hauled him up none too gently. Soon the pair was off as the other two Loonatics carried out Tech's orders. Lexi watched Ace's limp body in Slam's arm until her three teammates teleported out of the area.

"He's going to be alright Lexi," Tech told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's strong."

Lexi wiped away the few tears that had managed to fall. "I know," she replied. Tech was a great medic. Everything would be okay.

Soon, both of their fowl teammates were back. Rev ran to HQ on his own, and beat them there when they arrived by Duck's 'quacking'. Tech instantly headed to the infirmary, followed by his team. Ace had gone unconscious, and Tech cleaned, inspected the wound and then bandaged it.

"It's not deep," he informed them. "He'll be fine within a couple of weeks." Suddenly, everything was a thousand times better than it had been, and Lexi smiled with relief, her large worry slowly retreating. "Pills will help the process along."

She grinned, knowing how much Ace hated pills. Sure enough, the next day when he had to take one, he protested.

Yeah, everything was gonna be okay.

* * *

"Come on Ace! It's starting!"

"Coming!" The male bunny ran into the room, a large bowl of popcorn cradled in his arms. Lexi was curled up on the couch with the TV remote in her hand. Rain was splattering against the main room's windows, and a DVD case was open on the little table. Ace set the popcorn down, ready to watch the movie.

It was the first day off in a few months, and the two bunnies were ready to enjoy their Christmas presents. It was no secret the two were fans of the TV show, The Curse of Hercules, and for Christmas both had gotten something related to it. Lexi, the seventh season DVD (from her oldest brother), and Ace an awesome poster from his mom.

He was almost shaking with excitement. A whole four hours of bonus features, not to mention they were going to have a marathon of the whole series, from the very start to the cliffhanger the seventh season had ended with. Luckily, it was only a few months to go before the eighth season would premiere.

_The Curse of Hercules _came on the TV screen in big, black letters over a white room in an insane asylum.

As they watched, the two teammates vented their feelings out about the show, grateful to finally have someone who understood the pain of being a fan of the show.

"I can't believe Randy did that to her!"

"Curse you Douglas Wilson!"

"_Sonya! Noo!"_

"Oh my god - _breathe Lexi breathe_ - don't kill Randy!"

"Randy! No!"

At the end, the two were very emotionally drained. And that was only the first episode.

Needless to say, it was quite the bonding experience.

* * *

The yellow bunny brought the phone up to his ear. Normally, the phones in Acmetropolis projected a hologram of the caller as well as the sound, but when it came to phone calls in the tower - specifically anonymous ones, they stuck to the old-fashioned method. Ace had seen there was a voice message, and decided to see who it was from.

Quickly, a deep voice came onto the phone. "Hi, this is Frank Park, I'm calling for Lexi Bunny."

Ace felt a strong surge of sudden irritation, but pushed it away. They all had fans, and there was no reason to be annoyed. It wasn't like Lexi was his girlfriend or anything. Lexi? His girlfriend? Ridiculous! As an image flashed in his mind, it didn't seem so ridiculous for a moment. He shoved the image away, but it stayed in the back of his mind, nagging him.

But he wasn't suspicious. Frank Park, he knew that name. He felt like Lexi had mentioned him a couple of times.

"So," Frank Park's voice continued, "I was wondering if you wanted to go get coffee sometime. Bye." There was a click and he knew the voice message was done.

Ace put the phone back in its place. The next time he saw Lexi, he would mention this Frank Park thing to her. If she wanted to go, she could. And he knew she could handle herself, so there was no need to worry. Well, there was no need, but he knew he would be a little worried the first couple of times she went out with Frank Park - if she even wanted to, of course.

For some reason, the idea of her dating someone made him feel annoyed, and a little angry. His hands turned into fists at his side.

"Ace?"

He turned to see Lexi stepping out of the elevator. She flashed him a smile.

"What's up Spades?" she asked, striding over to him.

"A voice mail for you," he explained, handing her the phone. "From some guy named Frank Park."

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Really? Haven't heard from him since high school." She put the phone back in its slot. Ace looked at her blankly. "Ex-boyfriend," she supplied for him. "I've only mentioned him maybe twice to you, I can't blame you for not remembering." She grinned at him. "Anyway, you wanna get ice cream from the fridge?"

Ace stared at her. "You're not going to call him?"

"Nope." She headed towards the elevator. Ace smiled happily. "I came all the way here to get you - you coming or not?"

He chuckled. "Coming," he told her, and walked over to the elevator, arms swinging at his sides. They got into the machine together, and Lexi pressed the elevator button.

Their hands were very close together, the buck noticed. His fingers itched to grab her hand, but he suppressed it. How would she react if he did that? She gave him an odd smile, noting that he was looking down intently.

"Something wrong?" she said. His head jerked up to look at her.

"Wha-?" He realized he had been staring at her hand for a while. "No, nothing wrong." He smiled at her, her hand still staying limply at her side. Maybe one day he'll hold it, he mused. But that day wasn't today.

* * *

"I love fall."

Colourful leaves fell all around Lexi. Bright orange, gold, crimson and a gentle brown. The air was crisp, but the doe didn't mind sitting outside at all. It was Thanksgiving weekend, and as usual, every single person in the city got the weekend off - even super heroes. She leaned up against the old oak tree she was sitting underneath.

A leaf floated near her face and she brushed it away, laughing. "Spades," she half-complained through giggles. He gave her his best 'innocent' face.

"What? Did I do something?" he joked. He had tried to blow the leaf into her face. A leaf hit his face, and he plucked it off. "Fine, I'm sorry I tried to blow a leaf in your face."

"Thank you."

"Sorry that I didn't succeed," he teased. She tried to look mad but couldn't manage it with the goofy smile on his face.

"You're lucky I'm so merciful," she said, smiling.

Ace pretended to look honoured. "Thank you, most merciful mistress." The two bunnies dissolved into giggles. Once they had both composed yourself, Ace went back to lying down among the leaves slowly piling up on the now-covered grass, and Lexi once again leaned against the tree.

"So, are you going home to your family tomorrow for Thanksgiving?" he asked, staring up at the fluffy clouds that were sliding across the blue sky. His teammate's face fell.

"Actually," she said, sounding sad so he looked up at her, concerned. "I'm not. Most of my family lives on the other side of the planet, and with this time of year being so busy - and the fact we're technically on call, it's just not going to be able to happen."

"Oh," Ace said, and she could hear that he was upset.

"Yeah, it's too bad," she said, trying to sound more cheerful for his sake; she didn't want him to be sad because of her. "But there's always next year right?" she added.

"Well, I know the others are going home for the holidays," Ace said slowly, sitting up to look at her, "and so am I. . ." She shot him a confused look; surely he wasn't trying to make her feel _worse _on purpose? "But - er, there's always the option - only if you wanted to of course, I mean, it's entirely your decision -"

"Ace," she cut him off, knowing he could ramble forever.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry. What I was trying to say is - would you like to spend Thanksgiving with me and my mom?"

She blinked, taken aback by the touching and surprising offer. Then, once it had registered in her brain, she smiled warmly at him, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. "I would love too," she said happily, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in thanks, choosing to ignore the fact she was sure her cheeks were red.

He gave her an unsure and small smile, but then it blossomed into a fully-fledged grin. "Great. That's great. My mom's wanted to meet you for a long time. I've told her loads about you." His blue eyes widened slightly. "And the rest of the team," he added hastily, lying back down in the leaves. Lexi, although she noticed it, didn't comment on the long pause between his first sentence and the next, but simply smiled some more, flushing.

"All good things I hope?" she joked. She knew once a joke had been cracked, Ace would always feel more comfortable.

He chuckled and looked up at her again, grinning. "Of course Lex."

There was a pleasant silence for a while - the two bunnies just watching the leaves fall and the clouds swirl and shift as they made their way across the sky - until Lexi broke it. "Hey Spades?"

"Hmm?" He rolled over onto his side to look at her - her blonde bangs hanging in front of her bright, beautiful green eyes that glittered just the right way when the sunlight hit them.

"Thanks."

He laughed. "Anytime Lex."

* * *

Ace's mother was a middle-aged bunny with light gray fur, with kind green eyes and fairly long dark hair with streaks of gray that framed her face. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she greeted Lexi, reaching out to shake the other's doe hand. Lexi was surprised at the anthro's firm grip. Mrs Bunny had the same Brooklyn accent Ace had.

Once Mrs Bunny let go, she quickly pulled her son into a tight hug. "I'm glad that Slicer didn't hurt you too much. I wouldn't want my little boy to get hurt."

"Mom," Ace protested feebly. He wasn't a little boy anymore, even if he would always be her little boy.

Mrs Bunny led them into the apartment building, which was brick and was very all, just like all the buildings in Acmetropolis. The lobby was nicely furnished, and there were four elevators that the inhabitants were allowed to use - although unfortunately one was out of order. They stepped into the one closest to the wall with the portrait of a bowl of fruit, and it quickly took them up to the fifth floor. The two rabbits followed the older one down the hallway and around the corner, to the last door of the corridor. A beat-up woven welcome mat was placed in front.

Mrs Bunny pulled out an old-looking key, and Ace just smiled and looked at it. "Still a key in a fabric tear of the welcome mat?" he asked, grinning. His eyes glittered with a kind of simple happiness as they flickered to the faded mat.

Mrs Bunny gave her son a big smile. "Obviously," she said, amusement creeping into her voice. Ace chuckled softly. Mrs Bunny pulled the door open and stepped aside to let them in.

It was a small apartment, but with a very cozy feeling. The walls of the living room were a light, pleasant brown, with soft, creamy coloured couches and a couple of squashy armchairs clustered around an artificial fireplace made of brick, just like the outside of the building. Pale blue curtains were pulled back from a nearby window, letting sunlight stream in.

Connected to the living room was the kitchen, with dark wooded cabinets and granite counter-tops. A dark purple vase with a white rose stood in the centre of the circular wooden kitchen table, with four comfortable looking chairs placed around it.

A hallway led off to the left, where Lexi assumed the bedroom and bathrooms were.

All in all, it was a lovely home, Lexi decided. "Your home is beautiful," she told Mrs Bunny, who smiled warmly at her.

"Thank you," she replied, and then clasped her hands together. "Well, are either of you two hungry? It's still early in the day. How about I make you some lunch?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Lexi answered. When Ace didn't say anything to his mom, the young doe elbowed him in the stomach. He jumped slightly.

"Oh, yeah, thanks mom," he said sheepishly, putting a hand to the slightly sore part of his stomach. His mother laughed loudly.

"Looks like your friend here is good for you," she said, still chuckling. "Now Lexi, you don't have any allergies do you?"

"No," Lexi said cheerfully. She was lucky, unlike her two oldest brothers. One was fatally allergic to peanut butter, and the other to bananas.

Mrs Bunny nodded. "Alright then - Ace, why don't you show Lexi around while I start making dinner?"

He gave his mom a happy smile. "'Kay mom. C'mon Lex." The female bunny followed him down to the left. A picture of the little family - Ace had a big smile with a few missing teeth, and a younger bunny was holding his hand. The little boy had short, dark hair, blue-green eyes.

"Is that your little brother Flynn?" Lexi inquired.

"Yeah. But he's still abroad in France at the moment - which is why he isn't here this year. Too bad - you two would get along."

"Anyway," her leader continued. "This is the bathroom," - he pointed to one of the doors - "and this used to be my old room, which is where you'll be sleeping. It's been used as a guest room the past few years. Even Flynn's been cleared out, although it's kinda of like a storage room, that's why you're sleeping in this one. His old one and my mom's is down the other hallway, which is where I'll be if you need me, or wanna talk or something."

The male bunny's cheeks reddened and he gave her a small smile and cleared his throat. "So er, that's pretty much all of the house you need to know. Any questions?"

Lexi opened the door of Ace's old bedroom - the walls were pale blue with white, thin curtains, a bed with blue sheets and an old, colourful poster that was peeling off the wall. She walked over to it and Ace joined her inside the room, and the doe pressed the poster up, and laughed. "A _Curse of Hercules _poster? Really Spades?" she said through laughter.

She dropped her bag - a large duffle bag that used to belong to one of her brothers - at the foot of the bed. It was jammed full of clothes, sweaters, and other necessities.

Ace laughed too. "Yeah." He walked over to her and stood slightly behind her. "I became a fan when I was in my late teens. Used to watch it every Thursday night. Looks like mom couldn't bear to take it down, but you can if you want to."

"No," Lexi said happily, turning around to face him. "It's kinda sweet actually."

Her mouth formed a small _O _shape when she realized how close they were to each other. His blue eyes showed happiness, and something else - something emotionally stronger - that she couldn't identify. Although he was a little taller than her, she could feel his hot breath on her lips, and her heart beat quickened dramatically. A strong urge came over her to step forwards and close the small gap between them, making her feel startled and a little eager too.

When had this happened? When had Ace changed from being her best friend to someone she blushed and felt warm and fuzzy and couldn't think properly around?

"Ace! Lexi!"

They jumped apart quickly at the sound of Mrs Bunny's voice. Lexi's face was completely red and she embarrassingly fiddled with the necklace that her parents had given her, and cleared her throat. "Looks like dinner's ready."

"Oh - _dinner_, right. We should, ah, probably go see what's up." He exited the room quickly, her tagging along at the slower place, a strange fusion of dread and happiness gnawing at her stomach.

Oh God, she realized, she was falling for her best friend.

* * *

Luckily, she managed to make it through dinner (fajitas). It was fairly easy, actually. She and Ace took turns answering his mother's questions about life in the tower, the others and the villains, and Ace had plenty of questions about Flynn that Mrs Bunny was happy to answer ("He's in France now right?" "Once he left London, he headed over to Paris, yes. Wants to see the Eiffel Tower.")

The fajitas were very filling, and very delicious. Mrs Bunny was an excellent cook, much like Lexi's own mother, she thought.

Once their plates were empty - aside from spilled sauce and discarded bits of chicken and peppers and lettuce - Mrs Bunny stood up to collect them. "Son, help me wash these? The dishwasher's still running."

"I'll help you clean," Lexi volunteered, but Mrs Bunny waved her hand dismissively.

"Wouldn't think of it - you're a guest. Besides, it's late, you should go to bed," Mrs Bunny replied and gave Lexi a reassuring smile. Ace nodded at his friend too, telling her, _It's alright Lex, don't worry. _

Lexi smiled at them. "Alright, I suppose. Thank you for the lovely dinner Mrs Bunny. Good night."

"'Night," the other two called together as she headed down the short left hallway towards her bedroom. She was tired, and yawned multiple times as she took off her clothes and pulled on her pajamas and then climbed into bed.

In the kitchen, meanwhile, when Ace turned to face his mother who was standing at the sink, she gave him an amused and knowing look. "What?" he asked, feeling strangely defensive.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "Don't you 'what' me; I know what's going on."

"Mom!" he hissed. "She has super hearing you know!"

"She doesn't seem like the type to eavesdrop," Mrs Bunny replied dryly. "So, what's up between you two?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? The way you two look at each other, the way you tease her and call her Lex - that's not nothing and you know it." She put her hands on her hips and looked him straight in the eye.

Ace sighed, raking a hand through his gray fur on top of his head, feeling frustrated. "I don't know - it's complicated - we work together, we're best friends - I just. . ."

"I just?" his mother prompted.

"I just don't want to lose our friendship because I have feelings for her, alright?" he managed to say. "There's no way of knowing if she feels the same way."

His mother just smiled at him, and winked. "I wouldn't be so sure of that," she said playfully, and then, feeling like her work was done, she turned towards the sink and picked up a soapy dish. "Get along to bed son - I have a feeling you're going to have a lot to think about tonight. Love you."

Ace half-smiled, his eyelids feeling heavy. "Alright. Love you too mom." She gave him one last smile before he turned around and dragged himself to his brother's bedroom.

It was simple, with white walls, a bed and a few boxes stashed into the corner. Something caught the buck's eye on the boxes, and despite feeling tired, he moved towards it. Lying on top was an old faded photograph of a magnificent, green tree. Sunlight was filtering through the trees branches at just the right angle, and the green leaves seemed to glitter slightly; Lexi's bright, cheerful green eyes flashed in his head, and he didn't even realize he was smiling until after a moment or two.

He groaned and put his head in his hands once he got into bed.

Oh God, he was falling for his best friend.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everybody! Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites; it means a lot. :D**

**I hope you all liked this chapter (the next one is "Three: Trying") and if you have any suggestions or scenarios that you think would add or make the story better, please leave in a review by clicking the button; I'd love to hear your thoughts! **

**Please review.**


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